M 3.1 Earthquake 10 km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
Areazine synthesizes this USGS earthquake report directly from USGS's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake occurred 10 km ENE of Coso Junction, California, at a shallow depth of 2.18 km.
What this USGS earthquake report tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by USGS on August 8, 2026 and geographically references California. Its severity classification of "low" signals how the issuing agency weighs the risk of harm if no action is taken - "critical" and "high" tier alerts typically carry direct consumer actions, while "medium" and "low" tend toward informational guidance or monitoring advisories. The category it belongs to - Earthquakes - determines the monitoring protocol behind it, which shapes what follow-up action (checking for structural damage, watching for aftershocks, reviewing local building codes) is relevant and which agency holds authority over the assessment.
Most readers skim a notice like this, check whether they are personally affected, and move on. The more useful lens is to verify its scope, source, and timestamp, then compare related notices without assuming that one record proves a broader trend.
Areazine pairs this record with the original agency URL so you can check the primary source before acting. Its related labels are earthquake, seismic, usgs, California.
What Happened
A magnitude 3.1 ml earthquake struck 10 km ENE of Coso Junction, CA, on 2026-07-20 at 12:30:17 UTC. The event was recorded at coordinates 36.0697°N, 117.8423°W with a depth of 2.18 km.
Location Details
The earthquake was centered 10 km ENE of Coso Junction, CA. The shallow depth of 2.18 km classifies it as a shallow event (less than 20 km).
Impact Assessment
No felt reports were recorded. There was no tsunami advisory (tsunami field: 0) and no alert level issued.
What You Should Know
This was a minor earthquake (M 2.5-3.9) that is often felt but rarely causes damage. Residents in the area should be aware of the possibility of smaller aftershocks.
Source
Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗
Related Earthquakes
All Earthquakes →Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8
Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this USGS earthquake report: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (774 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (low) notices issued closest in time to August 8, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this USGS earthquake report.